"I was very happy to see NATO come [to Kandahar], but disappointed that NATO hasn’t altered their policy of using corrupt Afghan officials," she said. "They have given a blank cheque to the local government authorities and you simply can’t do that. Fighting corruption is a daily process. You can’t just remove a few officials and consider the task complete." According to Chayes, the ongoing process of NATO soldiers killing insurgents is negated by the fact that the unchecked corruption of the local government is creating an even greater number of volunteers taking up arms to join the resistance. She said the solution for this is for NATO to take firm control of the Afghan administration that they are fighting to prop up. "These corrupt Afghan officials will respond to foreign pressure because they know they are in power thanks to NATO," said Chayes. "If NATO wasn’t here the Karzai regime wouldn’t last five days or five minutes because the people are so upset." Apparently, the comments former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier made about the Kandahar governor being corrupt and in need of replacement were greeted with glee by the local citizens. Following the public exchange and Bernier’s subsequent withdrawal of his statements, Canadian officials told Chayes privately they wanted to discipline the governor, but the Americans would not allow Canada the latitude to do so. This notion clearly upset Chayes. "If the Afghan government is a criminal enterprise and Canada’s stated mission is to support the government of Afghanistan, then what the hell are you achieving?" she asked. "Is NATO here to make five people happy or to make the whole province happy?" Morocco RPCV Sarah Chayes has made a home in Kandahar, Afghanistan, became fluent in Pashto, one of the main Afghan languages, and devoted her energies to rebuilding a country gutted by two decades of war.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN – She is probably the most knowledgeable westerner when it comes to the situation in southern Afghanistan and as an American living alone in downtown Kandahar, she is undoubtedly one of the bravest women I have ever met.

A former National Public Radio correspondent, Sarah Chayes has spent the past six years managing a small Afghan co-op. It is not a major development project, just a small soap factory that employs about a dozen local employees and operates on a self-generated budget of just $3,000 US a month.

What is truly significant is that Chayes has been able to continue her work despite the deterioration in the security situation. Although a committed pacifist, Chayes is not a fool, and she carries a Kalashnikov assault rifle for her own protection and several of her staff have weapon permits as well.

When I drafted my wishlist for my unembedded tour in Kandahar, Chayes’s six years of experience–not to mention her mastery of the Pashtu language and local dialects–was a source I felt would be well worth tapping. The fact that my interview with Chayes at her modest compound was interrupted by the visit of a top-ranking NATO official from the Kandahar Airfield further served to confirm that opinion.

Without many eyes and ears outside the wire, Chayes’s input has become regarded as a vital source of intelligence for those stakeholders trying to get a full picture of the situation on the ground. Her message is supportive of a continued NATO presence in Kandahar, but she is highly critical of both the political strategy and combat tactics of the coalition forces.

"I was very happy to see NATO come [to Kandahar], but disappointed that NATO hasn’t altered their policy of using corrupt Afghan officials," she said. "They have given a blank cheque to the local government authorities and you simply can’t do that. Fighting corruption is a daily process. You can’t just remove a few officials and consider the task complete."

According to Chayes, the ongoing process of NATO soldiers killing insurgents is negated by the fact that the unchecked corruption of the local government is creating an even greater number of volunteers taking up arms to join the resistance. She said the solution for this is for NATO to take firm control of the Afghan administration that they are fighting to prop up.

"These corrupt Afghan officials will respond to foreign pressure because they know they are in power thanks to NATO," said Chayes. "If NATO wasn’t here the Karzai regime wouldn’t last five days or five minutes because the people are so upset."

Apparently, the comments former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier made about the Kandahar governor being corrupt and in need of replacement were greeted with glee by the local citizens. Following the public exchange and Bernier’s subsequent withdrawal of his statements, Canadian officials told Chayes privately they wanted to discipline the governor, but the Americans would not allow Canada the latitude to do so.

This notion clearly upset Chayes. "If the Afghan government is a criminal enterprise and Canada’s stated mission is to support the government of Afghanistan, then what the hell are you achieving?" she asked. "Is NATO here to make five people happy or to make the whole province happy?"

In addition to cleaning house within the Afghan administration and thereby winning the hearts-and-minds campaign among the local population, Chayes believes that even more foreign combat troops are required to stem the flow of insurgents from bases located across the Pakistan border.

"Kandahar is the most important province in Afghanistan. Kandahar is where this campaign will be won or lost," she said. "It was a strategic error for the Americans to give up Regional Command South, but NATO must now fill the void. Kandahar is the marrow in Afghanistan’s bones."

In terms of the international community providing increased development in this wartorn corner of Afghanistan, Chayes believes that far more experienced mentors are required to assist in the education of the local workforce.

"The isolation of the international community from the Kandahar population is a real problem," she said.

Given that there is estimated to be fewer than two dozen foreigners residing in Kandahar, her observation would seem to be a bit of an understatement. Especially since most foreigners live inside heavily guarded compounds–unlike Chayes.

Knowing that NATO officials are talking to her is reassuring. One just hopes they are actually listening.

Scott Taylor is the publisher of Esprit de Corps military magazine and author of several books. Since the 1990s, he has covered conflicts in Iraq and the Balkans. This was his third unembedded trip into Afghanistan.

Dodd vows to filibuster Surveillance ActSenator Chris Dodd vowed to filibuster the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped this administration violate the civil liberties of Americans. "It is time to say: No more. No more trampling on our Constitution. No more excusing those who violate the rule of law. These are fundamental, basic, eternal principles. They have been around, some of them, for as long as the Magna Carta. They are enduring. What they are not is temporary. And what we do not do in a time where our country is at risk is abandon them."

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Story Source: The Trentonian

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Morocco; COS - Afghanistan; Journalism

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